Game Notes - ESPN3 - Live Stats - Tickets
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville basketball team returns to action on Tuesday night, playing host to Missouri State in a 7:05 p.m. game at the Ford Center.
Tickets are still available by calling 812-488-ACES. Through the end of the day Monday, fans can purchase two tickets for $20. ESPN3 will also have live coverage of the game.
For the first time this season, the Purple Aces have lost three games in a row, falling to Bradley, 56-53, on Saturday at the Ford Center. Evansville led by 17 points in the second half before Bradley went on a 24-3 run to go on top for the first time in the game. Hitting five 3-pointers was D.J. Balentine as he finished with a game-high 22 points. Duane Gibson had a stellar stat line, notching 7 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists along with a block and a steal.
The last five games have seen Balentine rebound from a tough stretch a few weeks ago. Over the last five, Balentine has posted 18.8 points per game while hitting 29 of his 67 shots. In the three games prior to the streak (at Missouri State, Wichita State, at Loyola), he was held to 9.7 PPG while hitting 10 of his 39 attempts.
Balentine is tied for 25th in the nation in scoring and has registered double figures in all but two of UE's games in 2014-15 and hit the 20-point mark for the third time in league play, posting a game-high 22 versus Bradley.
The 53-point plateau has been a number of significance for the UE basketball team over the last few years. Since 2007-08, the Aces are 2-16 when scoring 53 points or less in MVC games. Evansville has scored under 53 in the last two games, falling in both. UE has notched 53 in back-to-back games on five occasions since 07-08, falling in all ten.
Free throws have been extremely important over the last 3+ seasons for the University of Evansville. This season, UE is 15-3 when making more free throws than the opposition and 1-4 when hitting fewer. Since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, the Aces are 6-26 when hitting fewer free throws than the opposition. There have been 19 instances since the beginning of the 2013-14 campaign that the Aces have hit under 69% of their free throws; the Aces are 3-16 in those games.
Just seven Missouri State players were healthy as the team fell by 78-35 score at Wichita State on Saturday. Gavin Thurman was the top scorer and rebounder versus the Shockers, finishing with 9 points and 7 boards. MSU stands at 9-15 and 3-9 overall and has lost nine of its last 10 games after starting 2-0 in Missouri Valley Conference action.
Their top active scorer is Austin Ruder, who checks in with 8 points per game; just behind him is Camyn Boone with 7.9. It has been a tough season for the Bears as just eight players have appeared in 20 games this season; just three have made 18 starts in 24 games.
Missouri State leads the all-time series against Evansville by a 33-28 tally. The Aces have had the upper hand over the last three years, winning six of the last nine games. UE picked up a 56-54 win in Springfield earlier this season and is 18-10 versus Missouri State in games played in Evansville.
